A new Carp PB for Tom - 37.02lb

Another weekend for Tom down at his syndicate lake. Weekend fish have been a bit thin on the ground so far this year so we were ecstatic for Tom when we got his message of a new personal best. A staggering 37.02 common carp. Well done Tom, proud of you !

A chunk of a fish, well caught x

RAF Cranwell, Lincs

 

Lynx Wildcat

Lynx Wildcat

Lynx Wildcat

Puma tactical transport helicopter

Chinook Helicopter

A Phenom T1 and two AT6 Texan aircraft

Phenom T1 and AT6 Texan

Hercules

A400M Airbus and Boeing C17 Globemaster

Boeing C17 Globemaster

Poseidon and Rivet Joint

RC135 Rivet Joint

P-8A Poseidon

Airbus KC2 Voyager

British Aerospace Hawk T2

Typhoon fighter jet

Well, this was a stressful day !  Set off early as not sure where we were going and thought parking would be an absolute nightmare. Correct on both counts there, but after failing to get into any near laybys we found a lane opposite Cranwell. We will remember this for any future visits as it was perfect. The lane was about a mile long and was soon choca block full on both sides. Rain wasn't forecast but that was also wrong, infact we had bouncing hail and the fly past was delayed. This was a 'dress rehersal' for the Queen's celebrations and the RAF were using the buildings at Cranwell as Buckingham Palace. 70 planes were to take part less the Red Arrows who were still in Greece. So we thought 60 would fly over us .....wrong. Recon we had about 20. So, that was a disappointment to say the least and this was the only practice. We are sure it will be ok on the day !

Nightjar !!

 

Our local nightjars are back !  One of my all time favourite birds........would love to see all the world's nightjars, that could be a retirement project to work on !!

Mandarins and Geese

 

We usually have mandarins infront of us here but afraid they got chased off this morning to make way for the dozens of baby geese that needed to be on the bank !

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

 

All crocheted and on the local postbox. There has been some work gone into this, its fantastic. Here she is with a corgi, flowers, bunting and crown. Brilliant !  Thank you to whoever did it and for sharing it with us all. 

Marsh Fritillaries, Chambers Farm

 

Our first trip of the year to Chambers, one of many. Lots of these today along with Dingy Skipper that refused to stay still ! 

Our garden - looking good !

 

Peas are well on their way, beans not far behind, onions ready to eat !

Drying the winter flowering bulbs before they are put away for the year

Simon makes all his own compost from kitchen waste, grass cuttings, cardboard and anything else that is re-cycleable topped up now and then with a road side bag of horse manure. It has saved us £££'s over the years, not to mention the saving to the environment. Totally peat free and organic. We have 3 wormeries and many home made composters that are constantly topped up. This load here is drying.

Some spuds up there, onions and garlic ready to pick when needed. We take fresh to a whole new level with a zero carbon footprint. Can't beat it. 

Pixi cat......of all the places to snooze she chooses the chopping block that we cut fire wood on. Here she is curled up in sawdust getting cozy with the axe ! 

Our first potato harvest of the year......I can't begin to tell you how nice they were, delicious!  Fresh from the garden 15 minutes ago, boiled with a sprig of mint also from the garden and covered in lovely butter. Mouth watering delicious !

Hand-feeding worms to carp in our garden

 

We have a beautiful garden of flowers, vegetables and grass. Tom bought a dozen baby common carp many years ago. They soon outgrew the fish tank in his room so they now live in a massive water carrier in the garden. They are huge and one day will need to be re-homed. Simon now has them hand tame, giving them worms each day. I will do some more videos to show you.

Wheatears

 

Four wheatears on our walk this morning, such smart birds